Baggeridge pocket cup victory

A YOUNG Baggeridge Social team took advantage of a good handicap mark to defeat Premier Division runners-up Norton Social A in the Knock-out Cup.

Two years on from when these teams met in the contest’s final, Baggeridge repeated the feat on their own tables.

Luke Whale and Frankie Bennett played really well in the opening frames against Steve Mason and Ashley Aston respectively to add another 41 points to the 219-point start and although Norton fought back, there was too much to do.

Norton Social B, clear at the top of the Second Division, were involved in the closest match of the round, when Pete Cairns had to pot the final black to see off the challenge of Ben Wakeman of Moor Pool and Snooker C, who had won last season’s Alan Moore Plate competition.

Premier Division leaders, West Midlands Police, had a difficult tie away to Netherton Sports & Social, conceding 118 points. Paul Bowen and Carl Webb won for Netherton while Maria Catalano won narrowly and Kev Franklin more convincingly for the police, and the 118 advantage still stood going into the final frame. Despite a great effort from Gavin Sloan to retrieve the deficit, Rich Barnsley just did enough to see Netherton through to the quarter-finals.

There were contrasting results for the two Stourbridge Institute teams as their A side were overwhelmed by the powerful Brandhall Labour team chasing the Premier Division title.

Karl Ashmore had a break of 44 and Alan Hooper four visits of 24 plus for Brandhall as they conceded 224 points to their opponents and still won by over 120. The B team, well on course for the First Division title, had Chris Crumpton and Dean Banks to thank for decisive wins which gave them the edge against promotion rivals Kinver A.

The all-premier clash between Kingswinford RBL A, champions three years ago, at home to Moor Pool and Snooker A, saw the visitors triumph thanks to wide-margin wins for Craig Nicholls and Warren Knight, but Moor P&S B, despite taking four of the frames on the tables of Kinver Constitutional B, were defeated after a particularly good win for Steve Nicholls. Amblecote Institute B, lying second in the First Division, came out on top in their clash with second division promotion hopefuls Kingswinford Cons B, a result which owed much to a fine win for Mick Cook against the prolific Leigh Bennett.

The tie of the round in the Plate competition saw Amblecote Institute A lose to Hotshots SC, who are set for the Premier Division title.